We're heading to the end of this conflict...
Tyrant raises her hand that is holding her distinctive sword, swinging with so much force that she pushes the air around her and causing a minor shockwave. She furiously slashes H-39's shells from all directions, deflecting them with the shockwave and slashing them into several pieces.
"...!"
On the other hand, H-39 follows up with the attack with an attempt to directly thrust the tip of her sword right toward Tyrant, piercing right out of the smoke. H-39 may be handicapped with the fact she's already dying and burning out her remaining energy with each second she is in combat.
"Not...going to happen!"
In retaliation, Tyrant catches the blade itself with her bare hands, tightly squeezing the sliding steel until she forces it to a stop. It's only unfortunate that Tyrant manages to stop the seemingly unstoppable charge an inch before it could pierce where her heart is located.
"It frustrates me that I couldn't surpass you properly. Your body is already fragile and crumbling away" Tyrant pushes the blade and its wielder back
"I cannot let you kill either the Bismarck and Tirpitz of this timeline"
"You're not in your peak anymore, my dear sister" Tyrant clicks her tongue
"So are you"
"...!"
"Your revival is incomplete as well, so you lost a portion of your original strength. To begin with, your immense strength stems from the Bismarck of your timeline"
Those who knows Tyrant is aware how all of immense strength originally belongs to the Bismarck she knows since Bismarck is the original Tyrant. It's only after Bismarck's death that she gains both the code and power in it.
"It doesn't matter whether this power is borrowed. I will not back down no matter how much you insult me. There's no way I will allow myself to lose" Tyrant points her sword
"I see. Your reasoning is foggy. Drifting into emptiness with the whispers of a rejected existence had twisted your goals" H-39 laments
"My sanity is intact. This is what I simply chose to do after months of being in vast emptiness. It doesn't matter if I have to pile up casualties, the result would be for an entirely different variable. Even if I were to dismantle everything I can reach, it would be just shrugged off by that thing"
"Hiryuu and Takao said you lost it after you experienced what felt like an eternity. Now I see they really aren't exaggerating"
"The perspective of others are of little importance. Drifting into everything and nothing provided me a new insight. That's why I decided to end this certain version of Tirpitz...so I may be nullified from the implanted data. My sister, I will make sure neither of our past selves can ever result to us" Tyrant clenches her fists
"You...are beyond saving..."
Tyrant's statements are all clear indication on how she is fully certain of her goal. She grits her teeth and begins rumbling her determination to accomplish her one and only goal. Before her revival, she has no desire to live any longer as she believes Tirpitz will never become her. Right now, it seems the desire of someone else is manipulating and twisting her view, like the events six months ago doesn't exist in her memory.
(I can't fight her much longer. I'm burning out my mental cube to the point my whole body is shaking and my eyes can barely see anymore)
H-39 tightly grips her the handle of her sword, irritated at her current limitation since the battle has yet draw to a close. Tyrant is also weakened much like her, but she is in a better combat-ready state.
"You left Iron Blood in order to prolong your life not because you gave up. Tirpitz, why didn't you tell me all this time?" Bismarck tightly grips Tirpitz's shoulder
"Do you think...someone like me...can stay in Iron Blood? A dying ship would be just cast aside and left to rot" Tirpitz steadies her breathing
"I will never cast aside anyone Bismarck retaliates
"All I wanted was to prevent a determined flame as yourself into becoming an ashen remains who lives in constant regret. That's why...I was decided to result to drastic measures..."
"You don't have to do this for my sake. What you should be concerned about is your own future"
"My future? Even though not long from now-" Tirpitz cuts herself off
"Tirpitz?"
"It doesn't matter now because right now, your future self needs you. She's going to die before she could deal a fatal blow to Tyrant"
Tirpitz and Bismarck shifts their attention towards their future versions who are still in a middle of a clash. Bismarck realizes H-39 has having difficulty keeping up in the same pace as Tyrant since she's exhausting her breaking mental cube to the point she could die right where she stands if she carelessly loses focus. Every strike and salvo is pushing H-39 further and further while she heavily pants and shakes her head of prevent herself from losing consciousness even for one second.
"Tirpitz, I'll finish off Tyrant...then we'll discuss about this turnout of events" Bismarck fixes her cap
"..." Tirpitz nods in response
(To think my future self is being suicidal. Then again, she's the same person who I briefly faced as an enemy)
Not too long ago, Bismarck wouldn't hesitate to cut H-39 down after her supposed desperate attempt to teach Bismarck a lesson, a realization of the mistake she would make in the form of her ashen version. She wouldn't allow herself to become a nameless battleship wandering with no purpose after the world she seems to protect crumbles right before her eyes.
"H-39, that's enough! You don't have to push yourself any further"
Bismarck rushes to H-39 side when she barely withstands two consecutive salvo from all of Tyrant's four twin turrets. In one glance, she realizes H-39 is mustering every bit of willpower she has left just to prevent herself from losing consciousness. The damage on her body progresses so much that bright scarlet gaping cracks spreads in the right side of her body.
"Bis...marck. Stay back. Tyrant...is my responsibility to sink-" H-39 coughs
"I'm doubting whether you and I are the same Bismarck with how suicidal you are" Bismarck frowns
"That's because the you right now is young naive. You couldn't see the hell those gritty fellows have been through. The burden we must drag with us...in order to achieve a laughable dream"
"What do you mean?"
"When I've lost hope in saving a world bound to be in ruins over and over again, Ember came to me asking help to cut down a demon unleashed by humanity"
"You can tell the rest of your story after this battle. I can't have you die yet"
Bismarck steps in front of the panting H-39, forcibly tagging her out since she's incapable of matching Tyrant, who stands right in front of her with a resentful glare piercing right through the distance between them.
"Are you done now? I'm not in the good mood to entertain your blabbering any further" Tyrant reloads her main guns
"Why do you seek to cut down Tirpitz? Eugen said you initially sought to save Tirpitz from herself"
"What she said was true. It's just that I changed my priorities until a voice inside this vast thought of mine. It was someone singing - an attempt to reach out to me. When I finally responded to it, I realized it was that woman's creation"
"Who is this accomplice of yours?" Bismarck points all four of her main guns
"The one who her fellow humans had betrayed. Even I was furious when I learned they robbed her hard work...and created the Sirens believing shipgirls like us to be a threat. We struggled and desperately dragged ourselves to save humanity's asses, but what happened?! In the end, human selfishness and their fear caused our downfall!"
Tyrant's frustration and deep disgust for humanity overwhelms her, removing her cold and grim behavior just a minute ago. She couldn't restrain herself from spitting out her disappointment over humanity's mistake which shipgirls have to pay.
"The truth of the hell what I've been through have been constantly changed...but I could never forget how I was used as a pawn against you. After inheriting your ashen power, I turned against Iron Blood...when I learned they planned to dispose you and the others" Tyrant's frustration grows
"Tyrant..."
"The last of the Arbiters, the one pretending to be a defect among others, forced me to learn how your ideal will always bring forth the ruins of Iron Blood. I can't let you make me go through all of that again. I'll kill the past and future Bismarck!"
"Do what you must. That is no longer Tirpitz - just a puppet for a cowardly manipulator" H-39 distances herself from Bismarck
"I'm aware of that. Besides, dead people shouldn't return to this world"
"...That's easy for you to say" H-39 sighs
Just as H-39 immediately leaves the rest of the battle to Bismarck, Tyrant immediately recommence the battle with Bismarck this time by firing a whole salvo without consideration.
"You're eager to sink all of us. Then I shall do that as well"
Bismarck pulls herself away from the smoke, with little to no scratches even with a direct barrage fired upon her.
"I don't have time to waste, Bismarck. That Arbiter is laying waste on one of your bases"
"What are you talking about?"
"There's no need for me to tell you about it. If you managed to survive this one, you'll know how half of your friends are already dead by now-!"
Tyrant is about to retaliate with another barrage when one of her turrets jams and halts her into firing a salvo right towards Bismarck again.
(Now!)
Bismarck ceases the chance and unleashes the might of her four twin turrets right towards Tyrant, only for the latter to defend herself with a "cheat-like" defensive ability. This causes the shells not to explode and simply disintegrates upon contact.
"Siren technology, huh. What a nuisance..." Bismarck clicks her tongue
The two discards a match of pure firepower by their shells and switches to their swords. Blades of silver clashes back and forth until they constantly create sparks. Bismarck's resilience proves to be a nuisance for Tyrant's aggressive stance.
"An Arbiter showed up. If there's another one here aside from the Empress...then I'm guessing they're taking advantage of the distraction right now. Especially...that I can't do something against them..."
H-39 is aware on how she doesn't stand a chance against even when she is at the peak of her strength. The Arbiters are unique that their nature remains a mystery to humanity. All everyone knows is how they are Sirens that only appear on certain events such as the fourteenth one.
Meanwhile...
Mechanical beasts from the seas tear through offshore and onshore defense with little to no effort while the Siren responsible for summoning them removes the spear from Nelson's stomach and kick the critically wounded battleship to the side.
"Nelson-"
Ark Royal attempts to rush to Nelson's aid, but an energy blast from the Siren's two fingers tears through her flesh repeatedly, creating several holes in her torso. Just like Nelson, Ark Royal immediately collapses on the ground, barely conscious and bleeding.
"I'm looking for certain Siren items you people have in possession. Don't make me waste effort, so out with it" The Sirens cracks her neck
"Who are you?" Mainz draws out her sword
"Custodian? No, that's not right. If it's my actual name...then this one right in front of you is the Fool. I don't know you should be thankful that my original code had degraded this badly due to temporal disturbances"
"The Fool?"
"You met Empress, right? Though I'm sure you haven't met Temperance yet"
"..."
Mainz understand the least on what she's talking about and simply cautiously backs away while she remains completely on guard.
(Roon is out cold, and those two are bleeding to death. Where's Kaga, Belfast and Wales?!) Mainz grits her teeth
"I'm guessing...it's not here. Perhaps it's in another storage..."
Custodian lazily waves her finger in the air, ordering her rigging to retreat. The rigging complies, but before she can fully remove her rigging...
"...!" She senses immediate danger
Several bluish flames flies right past Mainz and strikes the Siren, causing her to burst into flames.
"Those are - Kaga?!" Mainz turns around
"Mainz - tch, I didn't make it in time"
Kaga clicks her tongue as soon as she comes to the rescue. Roon only sustains bruises and such, while Nelson and Ark Royal and critically injured. If their wounds aren't treated soon, they might either die from blood loss or the extensive damage on their vital organs.
"I'm here for the power module contained within a supply box that you people took at the old bunker" Custodian immediately demands
"As far as I know, there's no power module within the boxes we opened, so scram already!"
Kaga bears her fangs and immediately prepares a defensive stance, willing to directly take on the Siren with little to no hesitation.
"...Hmm" The Siren narrows her eyes
"...?!"
"No good. Reinforcements are already on their way here, huh. From the looks of it, there's one huge battleship on the way here" Custodian taps her active rigging
The Siren blasts a huge hole with a devastating direct linear blast from her rigging, something she can instantly command with a nerd snap of her fingers.
"...!"
To Kaga's shock, the Siren casually turns her back on the two of them and decides to simply abandon the fight because she has another goal in mind.
"I'd take care of those two dying ships over there than chase me. Well, not like they would survive even with immediate treatment"
"Don't run away, Siren!" Kaga shouts at the top of her lungs
"I suddenly lost interest. Rather...I'm satisfied with the result"
"...?"
The Siren waves goodbye to the two furious shipgirls while her rigging is active and floating right behind her. The base is completely distracted with the ongoing attack from the mass-produced units any Elite Sirens can call forth, so she calmly walks away from the scene and heads to an Arsenal with two monstrous Siren units awaiting outside.
"So that's the one, huh. It took me a while to scan the whole base to identity which is which. Then again, the power module is just the bonus to my primary target
The few shipgirls in the base are unable to pursue after the Siren due to the number of cannon fodders she use to keep everyone at bay long enough for Custodian to retrieve what she seems from one of the supply boxes the shipgirls have in possession.
"The reinforcement is almost here. I don't want to damage this equipment, so better hurry before I ended up breaking it"
She tosses the box up and down even when she states she needs to be careful. For the safety of the unknown object inside the supply box, she stores the entire thing within a special storage device which dissembles its molecular structure and reassembles it once inside the container.
"High Priestess along with Empress should have sensed me, but I am a fool in their eyes. I need to focus on saving myself before thinking about those fools"
Custodian shakes her head and ignores the risk of having her presence be detected by Siren Arbiters, specially the one present within the world right now. Instead, she calmly heads to the open as she succeeds in her current goal.
"Hmm?"
Unfortunately for her, as soon as she is about to leave the coast, high explosive shells rains on her left and right. This forces her to take evasive maneuvers, ticking her off in the spot.
"Reinforcements already? My radars must be getting rusty again"
She continues to evade each shell and passively defending herself with a force field. After the rain of shells finally fades away and allows her to cease all evasion, she spots the battleship who is responsible for the unwanted and rather annoying attempt to catch her off guard.
"Second of the Yamato class battleship, Musashi. I wonder if I could collect any worthy data on you...seeing you have a non-existent retrofit" Custodian rubs her chin
"Data? I'm only here to beat the shit out of you after you boldly attack one of our bases"
"..."
"I don't know what you want or what your reason is, but your kind have messed with my world long enough" Musashi beat her fist
"This should be interesting"
Custodian snaps her fingers and causes her rigging to transform into a slim dragon-like rigging with thin scythe-shaped as arms. Several medium caliber guns and a pair of large caliber turrets manifests on her rigging three times her size, but this doesn't faze Musashi the least.
"A small one this, time huh. I fought something way bigger not too long ago. Though that one has a bunch of heads and doesn't die"
"The Hydra? Interesting. You have experience against Siren weapons"
Musashi cracks her knuckles as a sharp smirk curves on her lips. The Custodian's rigging may be much smaller and weaker when comparing to the Hydra, but it doesn't mean the Siren in front of her is someone she will underestimate.
"For you to raid the base like that by yourself, you must be pretty strong" Musashi guesses
"I may have gotten weaker, but I'm certainly stronger than you" Custodian assures her
"Then let's put it to a test!"
"Wha-"
To the Custodian's surprise, rather than a shower of one salvo to another, Musashi charges with no regard for her own safety. She gleefully pushes her engines and boilers to their maximum limit while the Siren shakes her head and starts opening fire at the charging battleship. No sane battleship would simply charge any kind of enemy without some sort of plan, but the Siren can clearly guess how Musashi simply intend's to ram her.
"Human minds lack rationality no matter what timeline I observe" The Custodian sighs
Musashi barely dodges the energy projectiles the Siren unleashes on her, even smirking at the confused expression of the Siren. As the Siren continues to distance herself from the charging battleship.
"Your kind is difficult to comprehend-"
Before the Siren could finish her sentence, Musashi manages to connect her fist right to the Siren's jaw. The jab barely pushes the Siren back, momentarily stunned since she doesn't bother to take just one battleship seriously. Of course, even with a direct hit from a remodelled Musashi, she is visibly unharmed as she is no ordinary Siren that can be just mass-produced after being destroyed.
"Impressive physical strength and firepower. Still, a non-existent retrofit is far from being perfect" The Siren jumps back
(Sirens sure does talk a lot) Musashi clicks her tongue
"Project A-150 or also called the Super Yamato class project. Since I have a lot of free time, I managed to dig up history about your...pitiful nation"
"..."
"Decades ago, your nation waged a war they cannot win...but persisted due to pride and arrogance. If it wasn't for the narrow mind of humans, it might have affected the creation of Sirens as our schematics were originally based from the woman's creation"
"I don't do mind games. Just get to the point" Musashi reloads her guns
"It doesn't matter because everything will be just a fleeting dream not long from now. Enjoy your remaining days of this...unique experience-"
Musashi interrupts her dialogue by directly firing a high explosive she'll right to her head. The Siren, being arrogant of her strength, has her primary defensive mechanisms inactive so the shells directly strikes her.
"...!"
The monstrous rigging with blades for arms dissipates the black smoke with a road so loud Musashi is paralyzed for about ten seconds even if she keeps her distance away from the Siren.
"Musashi's combat alone isn't enough. As a Siren, this had me curious to whether Yamato can outperform you in her non-existent remodel as well" The Siren dusts off her white coat
"...!" The two pauses when the sound of aircraft alerts them
"While I cannot get enough combat data, this one is sufficient for now"
The Siren gestures and the serpentine rigging closely hovers behind her with claws spread wide open at the air and growling at the swarm of aircraft.
"It seems I'm forced to prioritize something else for the time being. I do hope I can get a chance to collect enough data for the nagging fellow" Custodian salutes
"Hey, wait-!"
Custodian immediately opens a rift and immediately makes her exit right before Musashi can demand that they should finish their fight. Strangely enough, the aircraft begins to turn around with the confirmation of the Siren's disappearance from the area.
"Is she afraid...of aircraft?" Musashi scratches her head
Even Musashi is baffled to why the Siren suddenly decides to retreat upon sighting a group of bombers heading right towards their direction. Those same aircraft then retreats as soon as the Siren is forced to leave the scene. Custodian is about to leave a while ago if it isn't for Musashi's interruption and her desire to collect combat data for someone else. She accomplishes two goals in one day, so she leaves with a satisfied smile in the end.
Back at the battle...
Bismarck heavily pants while inspecting her rigging with one turret completely destroyed by none other than Tyrant, her current opponent. The latter clicks her tongue in disappointment while reloading all of her making guns.
"That annoying Arbiter got what she wanted and got scared from that annoying girl. This is...a surprise..." Tyrant smiles
"An Arbiter? What do you know about the Arbiters?" Bismarck clearly hears it
"They're annoying, and they won't shut up. One is already annoying...twenty two are completely pain in the ass"
"Then you are working for the Arbiters, huh"
"Arbiters? I don't remember serving anyone. My interest lie somewhere else"
"...and what would that be?"
"I'm putting an end to this charade. I will make sure none of this miserable events took place. What I wish to strip this nightmare off from ever occuring by removing its existence in every timeline out there" Tyrant reveals her intentions
"So that's why you need the World Tree"
"Bismarck, you wish to return to a time before this regrettable event. You shouldn't be standing in my way"
"Your goal is not free of consequences and risks. My duty is protect Iron Blood, and your existence threatens my allies"
Bismarck refuses to accept Tyrant's motivations and reminds her how she fights to protect Iron Blood more than anything, much to Tyrant's dismay. She believes Bismarck would choose the rational path but remains stubborn as she always does.
"You're going to regret this, both you and your worthless sister" Tyrant sheathes her blade
"I'll make you regret facing against me" Bismarck retaliates
"We shall see about that...but not today"
"...?"
"I have to rendezvous with a rather annoying Siren. On second thought, all Sirens are annoying..."
"Are you just going to flee again?"
"What about it? It's not like there's anything you can do to stop me" Tyrant opens a ripple beside her
"You keep running away without shame" Bismarck leers at her
"This isn't the right time. I have...other things in mind"
"Let it be for the time being" H-39 taps Bismarck's shoulders
"..."
Tyrant, upset at H-39's current state, disappointingly glares at her. H-39 herself views her since she's in a more pitiful state with how she is only motivated by the desire of others. Tyrant curses under her breath as she leaves the battlefield even if both sides are still in the condition to fight.
"She went off somewhere again, huh..." Tirpitz approaches the two
"Nggh!" H-39 collapses on the surfaces
"Hey-!"
The brief clash with Tyrant earlier exhausts a large amount of resources within her mental cube, rapidly breaking down her life to the point she's already at death's door. Right before H-39 faints from the exhaustion, both Bismarck and Tirpitz rushes to her side, and repeatedly calls out her name.
Later...
The base that becomes a victim of Custodian's assault is recovering from the aftermath of the sudden and swift raid from one Siren who brings a large group of mass-produced Sirens. Many humans are wounded, but the focus shifts to the shipgirls right now. The Kriegsmarine's Bismarck learns of the attack and runs in a panic, rushing to where the other shipgirls are recovering.
"I heard what happened-!" KC Bismarck rushes to the site"
"If you're looking for Nelson and Ark Royal, they were rushed to the nearest hospital and currently in ICU" Graf Zeppelin cuts off Bismarck
"They're alive?" Bismarck sighs in relief
"They're still in critical condition. The Siren knows where she hit them and damaged some of their organs"
"Everything's going to be fine, Bismarck-neesan. If you're worried, we can visit them later" Prinz Eugen suggests
"I-I'm not worried about that stalker..."
"Being a tsundere doesn't suit you" Graf Zeppelin sighs
"I'm not tsundere. If those two dies, I'm hunting that Siren wherever she is hiding"
Prinz Eugen attempts to comfort and ease Bismarck's worries by gently petting her at the back while Graf Zeppelin shakes her head when Bismarck repeatedly denies she is displaying deep concern for Ark Royal's critical condition. The Maizuru fleet are worried about their wounded comrades while Bismarck of Iron Blood speaks with H-39 resting by the side.
"I couldn't do anything again. At the very least...I wanted to prevent any regrets...in your place" H-39 can barely move her arm
"I learned about regret over and over again. If I had decided to take down Tyrant before Tirpitz ever learned of the truth...I wonder what could have happened?" Bismarck slightly leans forward
"Then neither of us would be talking to each other
"Aren't you at least going to say something to Tirpitz, or explain to my counterpart?" Bismarck frowns
"...No. I don't think I can say anything to either them if I were to face them one last time" H-39 shakes her head
Bismarck keeps silent about her mild dismay over H-39 refusal to speak to either of them even she has finally reached her limit.
"You're going to die again, huh" AL Bismarck sits in front of her
"I wish this is the last. I had enough of being brought back to life" H-39 rests her head
"There's a lot you need to explain"
"You're right, but I don't think I can explain it all before I die"
"..."
"You need to reach the World Tree before Tyrant does. She's targeting you, Bismarck. If she tampers the timeline, it will affect you and everyone around you"
"I'm aware of that" Bismarck nods
"I constantly live in guilt due to the mistake I made in my future. I couldn't do anything..." H-39 spills out her guilt
"What's been done...cannot be undone"
Bismarck removes her cap and places it beside her. She gazes H-39 right in her eyes, showing how she is very much aware on how no one cannot undo their actions, may it be foolish or necessary, no matter how one wishes to alter it.
"It's usually like that, but not this time"
"What do you mean?"
"You can alter it so Tyrant never existed. It means the events from seven months ago never occurred"
"...but that will affect the timeline in this world as well" AL Bismarck points out
"That way, their losses will be undone as well. Bismarck, you're to return to a time where neither you nor Tirpitz are aware of this world's exisrence"
"So everything will be just like a dream? What I went through...will be forgotten just like that" Bismarck squeezes her hands together
"You know it's for the best..."
AL Bismarck knows that if the events from seven months ago is undone, then the events leading up to the current point will not exist, which includes their memories on their experience. It is the price to pay for removing someone's existence within a certain timeline.
"How about Tirpitz? Is there a way to save her?"
"If Tyrant doesn't exist, then the moment that sealed her fate don't exist as well. You won't remember everything that happened though..."
"How do I reach the World Tree? Tyrant set these events in motion, so erasing her is the only way to undo it"
"Progenitor cannot be reach within this time, so you have to search for an Arbiter with enough Authority to access it. Someone like the Empress..."
"The Empress?!"
"You need someone with connection to her group. I'm certain Eugen knows where the Empress is residing in this world"
H-39 can barely feel her limbs as the rest of her body is growing numb - her bodily functions starting to shut down with her mental cube on the brink of being destroyed again.
"Bismarck, you cannot protect Iron Blood by yourself. You should ...rely on your comrades the same way they do to you. Carrying that burden by yourself will destroy you as time passes"
"H-39..."
"I'm leaving the rest to you..."
H-39 weakly tosses a chip right in front of Bismarck as she no longer has enough strength to directly toss it at her. Bismarck furrows her eyebrows seeing H-39 easily accepting her fate, a natural action as there's nothing that could save her now. She wishes to finally be out the rest, so she hopes this would be the last time she would exist in any timelines. The rest is now on Bismarck's care, and she trusts her last self can accomplish it.
I'm sorry...for forfeiting the truth until the end...
Bismarck gently picks up the backup cognitive chip H-39 entrusts to her as she begins to face away. In the moment of silence, Bismarck closes her eyes and let the silence surround her. The in front of her fades away once again, leaving a somewhat sorrowful yet accepting expression for her past self. In the end, she keeps the regret of an unknown truth with her until the last part of her fades away.
"I will make sure none of this ever happened..."
Even if H-39 is now gone, hopefully for good this time, Bismarck still has a goal to reach the World Tree before Tyrant does in order to erase her and undo all the events leading until to this moment. After safely keeping the chip in her possession, Bismarck leaves the site after the complete disappearance - only an empty space in front of her is left. The attack on the base may not be as severe from Ireland, but there are still losses even if two shipgirls are critically injured.
"Bismarck" Mainz runs to her
"Mainz...and Roon? Thankfull, you two suffered little injuries compared to the others" Bismarck sighs in relief
"Being tossed like a ragdoll isn't merely a scratch..." Roon bears a grudge on the Siren responsible for immediately knocking her out
"W-well, there's something we need to report about the Siren we that suddenly raided the base" Mainz clears her throat
"I heard only one Siren is responsible while the others are mass-produced units"
"A Siren going by the name Custodian, but I think she also introduced herself as...the Fool. She mentioned the Empress and Temperance, so I believe she has connection with the Arbiters"
"Rather she's an Arbiter herself..." Bismarck clenches her fist
"An Arbiter? No Arbiter would recklessly assault a base for no particular reason" Roon frowns
"While you were knocked out, she was searching for a component contained within a Siren supply box the humans in this base have found. Not all of it were inspected, so we're not really surethe exact component she's searching" Mainz informs Roon
"In addition, Tyrant implied an Arbiter attacked a base here, so it doesn't take much to figure out it's this base"
"...!"
The two Iron Blood heavy cruisers look at each other, shocked when Bismarck gives a more solid proof that the bold and careless Siren who is responsible for the brief raid in the base turns out to be an Arbiter. The Sirens they have been facing are both cold and calculating, so it's difficult to believe a reckless and childish Siren is one of the twenty two Arbiters.
"It's not impossible that the Arbiter who attacked and Tyrant are related. Damn it. If she's allied with an Arbiter, then she can access the World Tree now..." Bismarck bites her thumb
"I'm going to hunt down the Siren and tear her head off" Roon's eyes dilate
"We track down Tyrant, we might track down that Siren as well. So our objective is to locate Tyrant's whereabouts as soon as possible"
"Roger" Mainz salutes
Bismarck has yet to confirm Tyrant's possible connection to an Arbiter, but the timing is too coincidental. As soon as she is away fighting Tyrant, the base is raided by the lone Siren. The battle on both sides didn't last long as Tyrant and the Siren immediately retreat. Although in Tyrant's case, she retreats without accomplishing her reason for her reappearance. Bisnarck explains more details about their next objective while Tirpitz observes the scene while leaning against one of the intact buildings. Belfast accompanies her in observing Bismarck relaying her next course of action to her subordinates, a curious smile curves on her lips.
"An Arbiter retrieved one of the important components stolen by humans, but they're not aware of it. Although...Bismarck should be worrying about your current state" Belfast slowly shifts her focus to an unhappy Tirpitz
"..."
"I believe that silence indicates you're forfeiting the true nature of your condition"
"Bismarck is planning to sever whatever rooting Tyrant in this timeline. There's a chance that her existence since her first appearance will be undone rather than the current one" Tirpitz responds
"If my memory serves me correctly, she and Tyrant have the same goal...well, almost the same goal. In Tyrant's case, she's going to use herself as a catalyst to briefly stretch a gateway to this timeline" Belfast rubs her chin
"Tyrant wants a rematch, then so be it. I'll fight her even if my mental cube is about to give up much like H-39" Tirpitz crosses her arms
"The conclusion to this whole...charade...isn't going to be desirable. Are you certain you will proceed further?" Belfast wants to know whether she will determined
"Just do your job as the neutral party of this whole trash of a play. Whatever happens to me..."
"I believe Tirpitz will continue to live on until the end...because this is what you have chosen after all" Belfast gently smiles
"...Don't say it with a bright smile on your face. It makes you look like you're looking forward to it" Tirpitz clicks her tongue
"My apologies then"
Belfast doesn't have any intention of making it appear as if she is looking forward to however the whole situation, but Tirpitz is simply not in the best mood after the last face-off with Tyrant. H-39 is now gone, but "the rest" is up to Bismarck now.
EXTRA
At first it's only a pair which includes King George V and Akagi tracking down Littorio who is constantly missing and rarely cooperating with the rest of the shipgirls. Right now, Sovetskaya Rossiya is accompanying them much to Akagi's uneasiness. As a result, King George V has to be in between them even if Sovetskaya Rossiya doesn't seem to be bothered about Akagi.
"Uhm...Sovetskaya Rossiya, why did you tag along again?" King George V clears her throat
"I have my concerns regarding the one referred as a ghost ship. Gangut disappearef somewhere, and I don't know where she went" Sovetskaya Rossiya sighs
"Then this has nothing to do with Littorio. You shouldn't have let her come, King George V" Akagi scoffs
"Akagi, I like to believe you simply don't like anyone outside the Sakura Empire" Sovetskaya Rossiya retaliates
"I'm simply basing on my own instinct"
"Alright, no fighting between allies, okay? We're already here, aren't we?" King George V cuts the tensed atmosphere
The three of them stop right where they stand, and lock their gazes towards an abandoned facility somewhere in an isolated island. Akagi and Sovetskaya Rossiya head first with King George V following then shortly after, still concerned at how they arent friendly to each other. So long as the two wouldn't get into some sort of argument, King George V would have no reason to get in between them.
"Are we sure Littorio is here? It doesn't look like she's the type to go in such places" Sovetskaya scans her surroundings when they enter the facility
"I'm not certain what she would even do here, but we'll never know unless we ask her" Akagi replies
"I don't think Littorio is the scheming type, so I find this...really surprising" King George V scratches her head
"That would be me~" Akagi giggles
"Now that I think about it, Littorio doesn't have any solid motivations for tagging along with Bismarck. Among all of us, she eagerly agreed to it..."
Akagi is already aware of Sovetskaya Rossiya's point, but King George V acts so surprised even if she tags along Bismarck for the sole purpose of keeping a close an eye on her per a certain someone's request.
"Well, you're right about that..." Littorio's voice echoes
"...?!"
The Sardegna Empire battleship voluntarily reveals herself out of the corner's shadows and proudly greets them with he rusual confident smile across her lips. The three immediately rais their guard with Akagi drawing her her flaming paper aircraft, and the two battleships drawing their own sabers.
"Look, I'm not an enemy or anything...even if I'm a little suspicious with how I've beeing going wherever I please" Littorio raises both hands
"Words aren't enough proof" Akagi furrows her eyebrows
"Come on now, I didn't do anything terrible. I mean it was King George V who sabotaged the gateway to this world" Littorio chuckles
"She already confessed" Akagi sighs
"You two are being difficult. I'm trying my best here to not provoke someone"
Littorio scratches her her head while she backs away until she means on a pillar, clearly frustrated how the three are difficult to convince, specially someone like Akagi.
"Look, let's just talk aside before-"
Just as Littorio tries to pursue them to lower their weapons and lessen their hostility, someone grabs her by the back of her collar and instantly tosses her to the side, her body smashing against a pillar. This immediately knocks out Littorio while the three, repaired being surprised, prepared to battle whoever incapacitates Littorio.
"Chapayev?! Wait...is that Gangut...?!" Sovetskaya Rossiya lowers her weapon
Someone who strongly resembles Chapayev appears before them while grabbing an unconscious Gangut. The displeased doppelganger callouously throws away Gangut right beside where an unconscious Littorio is currently lying.
"What a nuisance. I don't have much freedom...but you people...like to meddle just about everywhere..." Chapayev grits her teeth
"Are you really Chapayev?" Sovetskaya Rossiya directly asks her
"Ah, one of the Northern Parliament like the one I trashed earlier. I am Chapayev based on her framework. This is only temporary since I need someone to serve a catalyst" Chapayev looks at both of her hands
"So you are a fake imitating my fallen comrade...! Tell me, are you the one responsible for taking her life as well?" Sovetskaya Rossiya's expression grows dark
"..." Chapayev leers are her
"I will not allow you to faint the memory of my comrade!"
"The Northern people sure are persistent. Well, I already expected it since the bits left informed me of your nation..."
"That is no shipgirl, that I'm certain. There's no need to restrain, you two" Akagi reminds them
"I'll have to remove...every single one of you"
"...!"
It only takes a mere second at least. Their enemy steadily stands right in front them slowly lifting her left hand as if she is reaching out to the three. In a matter of a second, right before their eyes, the three of them feel an intense force overwhelm them. That unknown feeling is crushing ever corner of their body.
"I'm not in the mood to kill anyone. Rather, I don't have enough strength to instantly kill all of you...in this incomplete form"
The three shipgirls are paralyzed by the unknown force, sending all of them flying away until their helpless bodies smash against the concrete wall. The shockwave "Chapayev" sends hurling towards them do shock no only their bodies but their consciousness as well. Just like the other two unconscious battleships, the three immediately faint from the heavy force forced on them.
"Ah. My arm..."
Chapayev's left arm slowly disintegrates that empty data peels off is slowly peeling off her current form with her arm is tearing off from the rest of her body. Rather than wait for it to completely collapse on its own, she tears it off herself and towards it aside as well. The arm slowly disintegrates while thr part where she severs her arms displays no flesh or blood, but only some sort of pitch-black source with bits of pixels.
"I wonder if coming in a mutual agreement with Temperance and the other Arbiters is the right call. Sirens are the filth stemming from the source of my creator. Even if humans are responsible for their existence...I can't simply tolerate their existence"
Chapayev thinks about her current situation and whether she regrets her decision or not while five shipgirls are currently unconscious around her.
"Whatever. I just have to wait a little longer..."
There's no benefit in taking out all five vulnerable shipgirls even if she views them as a hindrance, so she massages her severed arm and shrugged off her shoulders. She begins to leave the scene with how her existence cannot stay for long periods of time as she will begin to take damage, usually in the form of her outside appearance withering away only displaying an incomplete being beyond it.
Sleep sleep sleep
Don't sail too close to the foggy sea
Or little grey ghost will come
And grab you by the flank,
Drag you into the abyss
Underneath the eternal night...